Saturday, December 18, 2010

It’s getting to be that time of year when I start to look back at what I’ve done over the past year and start to think about plans for the next year. I know I am far more productive when I have a plan – and especially when there is some specific goal worked into that plan.

At the beginning of this past year we were playing a campaign set in Rokugan (The Asian fantasy land that is the setting of the Legends of the Five Rings series of card and role-playing games). That fizzled. I would like to run that campaign again sometime – at the end of 2009 I bought a whole shwack of the RPG setting books and adventure modules and even some of the novels – dirt cheap. On one hand it’s great because there’s all that rich background already fleshed out for you… on the other hand it’s daunting because there’s all that rich background already fleshed out for you… One day I’ll get back to reading through it all and pick it up again. Probably not this coming year.

Then we ran a short far future sci-fi campaign. It fizzled too. I do have a lot of old Traveller stuff that I’d like to make use of some day… again, a lot of work… I’ll get to it some day…

Around April I started TWO simultaneous campaigns! On Wednesday nights I was running a World War Two (occasionally “Weird” War Two) East Front campaign and on Saturdays I started a Realms of Cthulhu campaign. They both started to fizzle in August as I got a bit burned out. I tried to get them BOTH going again in September but after another month burned out again and took another break. Since November I’ve got the WW2 campaign going again and everyone seems to be having fun..

I’m sick right now (bleh!) and so there’s no game tonight, and won’t be one next week as that’s Christmas.

So… Next Year…

I’ll definitely be pressing on with the (Weird) World War Two campaign. Ultimately I’d like to see it through to the end of the war… or until all the characters are killed in some climactic battle against some ultimate German evil nasty….

The Realms of Cthulhu campaign has really just been on the back burner and I’d really like to get playing that again. I’m sure how I’ll be abl to do that…? Alternate between the two…? Or put the WW2 campaign “on the back burner” for a bit…?

One part of the reason for wanting to get back on the Cthulhu campaign is that Dave has cleverly linked his two characters – his character in the Cthulhu campaign is the father of his character in the WW2 campaign!? I’d kind of like to tie those together game-wise, but obviously I can’t drop the elder into the WW2 campaign from time to time if I don’t know how his life plays out through the 20s and 30s – his life could very well end on some uncharted island in the pacific in 1926 or in the Antarctic in 1934 (unless, of course,we assume they are alternate parallel universes). What do I do – put the WW2 campaign on hold until his fate has been determined – either by his demise or that campaign catching up to the WW2 campaigns timeline!?

Whatever I do I’m pretty sure this year will be mostly weird war and cthulhu…

Possible Distractions…

Space:1889

The release of the Savaged version of Space:1889 poses a very real possible distraction. I loved that setting. I have almost all of the original GDW printed modules and source books. I also have a lot of Victorian era miniatures; largely Victorian Horror minis from playing Rippers, but I also have a few “colonials” and even some old Space:1889 Martians. Oh, I also have a lot of “old West” figures, which would be entirely appropriate.

Of course I’ve often thought of running a Space Rippers:1889 campaign too… Werewolves on Mars, Vampires on Venus…

North West Europe 44-45

I’ve finished my Canadians and will be working on some more Germans in the new year. The ultimate goal will be to run a campaign following a platoon of the Regina Rifle Regiment through the campaign in Northwest Europe, startingwith their assault on Courseulles on D-Day. I have a lot yet to do on this… but as I get closer to finishing up the Germans and new terrain…

Other campaigns I’d like to run… someday… that I have some miniature and/or campaign material for... that I occasionally get out and look over and consider… include Twilight:2000, Zombie Run, Traveller/Far future/Sci-fi, Rokugan/L5R, Tour of Darkness, Supers, Pirates, etc…

Hmmmm… Actually I think having typed this out has helped me focus a lot and I’m not feeling so distracted by other things at the moment…

Probably won’t be posting anything else on here for the next two weeks (unless any of my players get a character background to me that I decide to post!) so I hope you all have a happy holiday season and a joyful new year!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Shortly after escaping the German encirclement near Kharkov, orders arrived from Moscow ordering our heroes to another part of the front some 200 hundred miles to the north. A truck was commandeered and the distance was covered in only five days!

The region they arrived in was a relatively static part of the front. The area of operation of immediate concern to them was a forested. The German lines were on the other side of the woods.

For the last few months every full moon a nightly patrol in the woods has disappeared only to be discovered some time later, all dead and horribly mutilated. Last full moon a commissar had to shoot four members of the platoon that was to send out a patrol before they would go, none returned…

As the next full moon approaches, morale is at an all time low. Rumors of werewolves and the living dead run rampant. Executions for desertion at an all time high.

The BPO team has been brought in to determine if the source of the dreadful occurrences is arcane in nature.

Androv Virgilovski was promoted to Efreytor (Corporal), and is thus second in command of Trotsky’s Squad. Leytnant Stepanoff and Putyatin were called back to Moscow leaving Leytnant Marcov in charge. A new recruit has also joined the Squad - Rayadovoy Alexie Sackalov.

I had my werewolves all out and sitting on the edge of the table, but sort of out of the way… of course Patrick spotted them and they were immediately convinced they were for sure up against werewolves!

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

The BPO patrol heads out from the Russian lines into the woods… feeling a little nervous they stay pretty bunched up…

With such a target rich environment I couldn’t help but throw a couple grenades in there! SS team #1 ambushed Trotsky’s squad – taking out two of them.

When the grenades went off the pack handlers unleashed the wolves on the Tank crew. One of the tank crew was immediately down in their initial charge.

Since Trotsky’s squad was still all bunched up with the SS went again I chucked antoher could grenades. Taking out another pair and wounding Serzhant Trotsky!

Trotsky’s squad went for cover and laid down some withering fire! Two SS went down and the rest were shaken by the unexpected violent retaliation by the soviets!

Leytnant marcov shot one of the Wolves.

One of the Russians got a grenade close enough to take down another of the SS troops.

One of the SS recovered quickly enough and shot one of Trotsky’s men.

The tank crews, with the help of Virgilovsky took down the rest of the wolves. But the second SS team had, by that time, snuck up on them and gunned most of them down, point blank – including Leytenant Marcov!! (Two bullets – four wounds each, soaked two of the first shot…)

Darrin was dealt a joker and (because we’re still using fortune and calamity… because it’s fun…) the second SS team ran out of ammo…!?

I decided the following turn they would all just bug out, but let the players get one more turn of firing in – during which they tagged on of the second SS team.

Rayadovoy Alexie Sackalov rushed forward and captured two of the wounded SS (on lightly wounded, the other seriously) from the first team. The third one (also lightly wounded) managed to slip away in the dark.

The trooper from the second SS team was killed in action. His comrades were able to bare him away when they left, however.

Of Trotsky’s squad – five had been taken out of action, but four were lightly wounded (mis one game) and the fifth was only nicked and will return to action immediately! Serzhant Trotsky’s looking a little worse for wear however – he’ll be carrying those two wounds with him next game!

The most exciting bit about the game, however, is the fact that Serzhant Trotsky actually made it to veteran! I’ve run a number of campaigns over the last five years or so… In some, because starting characters were kind of weak for the campaign, I would give players 5XP per game until they made it to seasoned – and still we’ve never had anyone make it to Veteran. This campaign I’ve only been awarding the standard 1-3 experience… so it’s taken some time, but he’s there! (congrats Dave!)

Jackson’s decided to make a scout for his next character – which will probably work out better than a tank commander (not much call for tanks when investigating the arcane…)

Sunday, December 5, 2010

The group retired to Moscow for a few weeks while Putyatin recovered from her injuries. The time was mostly spent poring over reports of strange incidents from the front. By mid May they were on the move again to Izium to investigate a series of paranormal occurances. Just before they arrived the Soviets had launched their offensive towards Kharkov. A couple days later after their investigations turned up nothing they caught off guard by the first Panzer Army’s counterattack at the Barvenkovo bridgehead and found themselves behind enemy lines. After a few days of skulking around they found themselves aclose to the front and tried to make a break for it.

SCENARIO

Players start at one end of the table and must exit off the other. German forces are hidden in the buildings.

Anya and Virgilovski take fire from the German MG team that spotted them moving in the open down the main street directly to their rear. Putyatin was hit… in her medical bag (soaked), which exploded in a white cloud of shredded gauze.

Lt. Stepanoff and Rayadovoy Dizaleski approach a dilapidated building with caution.

All hell breaks loose and everyone is firing at everyone.

Rayadovoy Virgilovsky takes up a good firing position while Putyatin runs for cover.

The Scouts occupy a building. Lt Marcov takes some pot shots from a window with his pistol.

The German rifle team redploys for an all-round defence.

POW! Vigilovsky takes out one of the MG team.

POW! Then he shoots one of the LMG team.

One of the German Rifle team suddenly screams and drops to the ground bleeding from his nose and ears…

POW! Virgilovsky takes down another German.

More Germans dying… I can’t remember who shot this guy – probably Dizaleski.

The last of the LMG team goes down in a hail of fire from Trostsky’s squad.

German reinforcements arrived, but they are too late – though they tagged a couple of extras pretty much everyone got away unscathed.

The dramatic end of the German rifle team – Lt. Marcov charged in to attack the team leader with his trusty wooden stake (having run out of bullets). His feeble attacks are easily parried by the German. Just as thing look like they might go badly for the elderly Leytnant his co-commander, Lt. Stepanoff, burst through the doorway behind the German and filled him full of lead – point blank, in the back. Lt, Marcov, miraculously, escaped unscathed!

In total, the Germans suffered two killed in action, three seriously injured and six lightly wounded. The Russians, only nicks and scratches.

Coming Soon to Savage Timmy’s Playhouse:

A detailed background of Lt Marcov is in the works. After some discussion of it at the game table there was no end to the "elderly" jokes flying tonight (Jackson's character, at 56, is at least 20 years older than any of the characters - which is kind of extra funny because Jackson is about 20 years younger than the average age of the other players...). Lt. Marcov will likely forever be referred to as "grandpa". Poor old codger, I'll need to find a scenario he can use his tanks in...

Anya comes from a long maternal line of healers. Many of her ancestors have been burned as witches, but "the craft" has carried on, generation after generation, mother to daughter. They have lived for centuries in small nameless villages on the western flanks of the Urals.

She is the youngest daughter of Ivan Michailovich Putyatin (a blacksmith) and Nadia Borysovna. Anya was born 23 September 1915 and is 26 years old at the beginning of 1942. She has three older siblings. Her sister, Oksana, was born 23 February 1913. Her brother, Nikolai, was born 11 January 1914, and her other brother, “Sasha”, was born 28 November 1914.

Ivan was conscripted in early 1915 during the Great War and rushed to the front. He served briefly with the 2nd Army and died near Warsaw in late July of that year. Before Anya was even born.

After Ivan left for the war, Nadia and her children returned to live on her parents’ farm. Anya’s Grandfather, Borys, was killed by Tsarists in October of 1920 when he refused to give up a portion of their pitiful harvest. Her Mother was executed by the Bolsheviks the following July “for giving aid and comfort to counterrevolutionaries”.

Anya and her siblings were then raised by their grandmother. Anya and Oksana learned “the carft” from Baba Yelena.

“Sasha” disappeared when they were still young (c. 1928). Nikolai is in a “corrective labour camp” in Siberia.

Anya joined the Red Army as a nurse in 1937. She served at a military hospital in Moscow for some years. In late 1941 as the fascist forces of Nazi Germany drew ever closer to Moscow Anya was transferred to the front as a medical aide.

She was seriously wounded in combat against supernatural foes. She spent some time as a patient in the very same hospital in which she had served for all those years. She was interrogated a few times by the NKVD about the “mutiny incident” in which she was wounded, then further interviewed by some other officials.

She was then recruited by the BPO as a Psyonik and trained to use the same abilities she had used for so long to heal in need – to kill the fascist enemies of the state.